Relationship between religiousness and mental health

The article presents considerations focused on the broadly understood relationship between religiousness/spirituality and health - primarily mental health, although issues related to physical health were also discussed. It addresses, among others, the issue of potential benefits resulting from participation in religious practices - in this context, particular emphasis was placed on the sphere of social relations and social support that can be obtained from other members of the religious community, which can be perceived as a factor that may play a key role in the process of coping with various life difficulties and the resulting stress. The final part of the article presents the potential mechanisms underlying the relationship between religiousness/spirituality and health.

Validation of “Trust/Mistrust in God Scale” for Spanish Cancer Patients

Trust/Mistrust in God have turned out to be two constructs that have great relevance in the study of the relationship between religion, spirituality, and health. In Spain, there are no instruments adapted to measure trust/mistrust in God, which limits the work of researchers interested in these aspects. Therefore, the aim of this study was to validate the Brief Trust/Mistrust in God Scale (BTMGS) in Spanish. The scale translated into Spanish was applied in a sample of 178 oncologic patients together with the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and the significant others subscale of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, due to the existing evidence of relationships between the variables evaluated by these measures. Internal consistency, structural validity, convergent and discriminant validity were evaluated. The Spanish adaptation of the BTMGS obtained high internal consistency, both for trust subscale (α = 0.95) and for the mistrust subscale (α = 0.86). Furthermore, the correlations found between the BTMGS and the measures of positive and negative emotions and social add evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. These results suggest that the Spanish version of the BTMGS is a valid and reliable measure to be used in research on religion, spirituality and health in Spanish-speaking contexts.

The Role of Religious Values and Beliefs in Shaping Mental Health and Disorders

Mental health is an area of continuous analysis, both in the context of understanding increasingly precise diagnostic criteria and the impact of therapeutic methods. In addition to these well-established directions of analysis and search, psychology tries to explore the factors that bring us closer to understanding the mechanisms of the genesis and development of disorders, as well as their importance in psychoeducation or therapy. The increased interest in issues of spirituality/religion observed in recent years translates into the pursuit to explore the relationship between religion/spirituality and health. This article reviews research into the ability of religion and spirituality to benefit or harm the mental health of believers. We also examine the mechanism of developing religious delusions in schizophrenia. Religion and spirituality can promote or damage mental health. This potential demands an increased awareness of religious matters by mental health practitioners, as well as ongoing attention in clinical psychology research.

Relationship Between Spirituality and Distress in Ascetics

The relation between spirituality and health has been argued for decades. The study aimed to ascertain the extent and nature of the relationship between spirituality quantified in terms of Spiritual Intelligence (SI) and distress in ascetics. Sixty-three Hindu ascetics aged 31.3 ± 6.6 years were sampled from Patanjali Yogpeeth, India. Participants’ distress and spiritual levels were measured by using the Cornell Medical Index Health Questionnaires (CMHIQs) and Spiritual Intelligence Self-Report Inventory-24 (SISRI-24), respectively. Multiple regression analyses showed an insignificant negative relationship between SI and distress implying SI as a predictor of psychosomatic health.

RADICAL CARE AND DECOLONIAL FUTURES: CONVERSATIONS ON IDENTITY, HEALTH, AND SPIRITUALITY WITH INDIGENOUS QUEER, TRANS, AND TWO-SPIRIT YOUTH

The spirituality and health of Indigenous queer, trans, and two-spirit people occurs within and responds to contexts of extreme colonial violence. However, few studies have examined the relationships among the identity, health, and spirituality of Indigenous queer, trans, and two-spirit youth and their perspectives and activism work in relation to the context of this violence. This study aims to better understand the importance of the connections among identity, health, and spirituality and their role in supporting Indigenous queer, trans, and two-spirit leadership in the enactment of care practices to promote health amidst colonial violence and the worlding of decolonial futures beyond and outside it. Informed by key insights from the grassroots movements and fields of Indigenous feminism, Indigenous queer thought, and radical resurgence, this study brings these insights into conversation, via qualitative interviews with five Indigenous youth activists (18 to 35 years old) from across the part of Turtle Island now known as Canada. Our analysis results in four themes: (1) identity, (2) spirituality, (3) the multidimensional nature of colonial violence, and (4) radical care. We delineate activating practices for decolonial futures, and signal the value of grounded, context-reflective, culturally safe, and intersectional health and youth services. This research demonstrates that spirituality is constitutive of and foundational to the identity and health of Indigenous queer, trans, and two-spirit youth, and shows that health promotion and youth services must address the multidimensional nature of these needs if they are to truly support Indigenous young people, their movements of radical care, and the creation of a decolonial elsewhere marked by belonging, love, self-determinism, responsibility, and joy.

Avaliação da religiosidade e espiritualidade dos residentes de medicina e implicações frente à prática clínica e à formação médica

Estudos têm demonstrado que as crenças espirituais e religiosas influenciam desfechos em saúde. Entretanto, ainda existem algumas lacunas de como essas evidências podem ser utilizadas na prática clínica e na formação médica. Dessa forma, torna-se necessário compreender como profissionais em formação, por exemplo, médicos residentes, veem o tema religiosidade e espiritualidade (R/E). Objetiva-se avaliar as atitudes, conhecimento e experiências de médicos residentes brasileiros frente ao tema R/E e sua influência na prática clínica e na formação médica. Realizouse estudo multicêntrico de caráter observacional e transversal, denominado SBRAMER (Spirituality in Brazilian Medical Residents). Participaram do estudo sete hospitais ou centros formadores de médicos residentes de diferentes regiões brasileiras. Foram aplicados os questionários do NERSH - Network for Research in Spirituality and Health (Avaliação de Religiosidade e Espiritualidade na prática clínica e formação médica) e o Duke Religion Index. De um total de 1642 médicos residentes elegíveis, foram incluídos 879 participantes (53,5%). Os residentes de medicina consideram importante suas crenças religiosas e espirituais, apesar de não irem, frequentemente, a serviços religiosos. A maioria dos participantes acredita que a R/E influencia de forma importante na saúde do paciente (75,2%) e que é apropriado abordar essas crenças (77,1%), no entanto, apenas 14,4% abordam de forma rotineira o tema em sua prática clínica. As principais barreiras apontadas foram manutenção da neutralidade profissional 31,4%, medo de ofender os pacientes 29,1% e tempo insuficiente 26,2%. Estiveram associados a maior abordagem e opiniões mais positivas em relação ao tema, fatores como o sexo feminino, especialidades clínicas, a existência de um treinamento formal em R/E e maiores níveis de R/E. Concluiu-se que os residentes médicos brasileiros acreditam que as crenças espirituais e religiosas podem impactar a saúde de seus pacientes e julgam apropriado o médico abordar esse assunto. Entretanto, a falta de treinamento é uma das principais responsáveis pelo receio de tal abordagem na prática clínica. Educadores devem estar atentos a esses dados para que possam conduzir intervenções e conteúdo obrigatório sobre essa temática nos programas de residência médica.

“The Awesomeness and the Vastness of Who You Really Are:” A Culturally Distinct Framework for Understanding the Link Between Spirituality and Health for Black Sexual Minority Men

Despite health inequities, many Black sexual minority men are resilient and often utilize spirituality as a culturally distinct self-protective and self-enhancing resource to maintain their health. However, little is known about how spirituality impacts health within a cultural framework that is specific to Black sexual minority men. We conducted 10 individual in-depth interviews, reaching code saturation, with Black sexual minority men across the USA. Our study was guided by grounded theory and a Black psychology theoretical framework. Seven themes were discovered and revealed that participants’ level of spiritual consciousness influenced their engagement in psychological and behavioral processes that were related to mental and physical health. These themes were: (a) suboptimal worldview, (b) emotional revelation, (c) emotional emancipation, (d) emotional regulation, (e) health motivations, (f) health behaviors, and (g) links between spiritual consciousness, mental health, and physical health. Implications of these findings for clinicians and researchers are discussed.

The Study on Stress, Spirituality, and Health (SSSH): Psychometric Evaluation and Initial Validation of the SSSH Baseline Spirituality Survey

This paper describes the development and initial psychometric testing of the baseline Spirituality Survey (SS-1) from the Study on Stress, Spirituality, and Health (SSSH). The SS-1 contains a mixture of items selected from validated existing scales and new items generated to measure important constructs not captured by existing instruments, and our purpose here was to establish the validity of new and existing measures in a racially/ethnically diverse sample. Psychometric properties of the SS-1 were evaluated using standard psychometric analyses in 4563 SSSH participants. Predictive validity of SS-1 scales was assessed in relation to the physical and mental health component scores from the Short-Form 12 Health Survey (SF-12). Scales exhibited adequate to strong psychometric properties and demonstrated construct and predictive validity. Overall, the correlational findings provided solid evidence that the SS-1 scales are associated with a wide range of relevant R/S attitudes, mental health, and to a lesser degree physical health.